Pallet and Easel
by MyLatte
Summary: Like others, Delia Ketchum has a story too.
1. Age 15

I haven't really read many stories about Delia or her life, so I figured I'd write one. It's probably not so great, but I'm lazy.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Pokemon.

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><p><strong>Pallet and Easel<strong>

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><p><strong>Delia: Aged 15.<strong>

Delia breathed in the fresh air of Pallet Town, it smelled so much nicer than the big city she was from. She was so happy to be here, in a little town where everyone knew everyone and it was like one big family. She had never felt quite right in the city. It was too anonymous, each time you walked the streets they were like they were new. There was no familiarity. And everyone changed after a while. Her friends she'd had when she was growing up were now pretentious, acting like they were twenty-five instead of fifteen. She had never been like that herself, always looking more like a country girl even though she'd never been. As she looked up and down the streets, she finally felt home.

"Delia, you should probably go introduce yourself down at Professor Oak's lab, you are starting there as a student tomorrow, after all," Her mother popped her head out the door to talk to her. "I'll be down at the restaurant, just getting things ready for when it opens,"

"Oh yeah, sure," She answered, the wide grin that had been plastered on her face since she got here not faltering. She started off down the street, taking in all her surroundings. The houses were so historic, she couldn't help comparing it to back in the city where everything was new. There was a loud beeping noise and she was startled out of her daze. It was a car, she'd stepped out onto the road without realising it. Now that she was aware of what was happening around her, she realised that she didn't have a clue where she was. Her house was no where in sight, and neither was Professor Oak's.

"Okay, don't panic," She told herself. "The town isn't too big, you can't be too lost," Slowly she made her way along the main road, peering into the windows houses and shops to try and get some sort of direction as to where she was going, but nothing was helping. Everything was so unfamiliar! She clenched her fists and bit her quivering lip down - what she would give just to be back home in the city. She stopped and rested her head against a lamp post, steadying her breathing. "You can do this," She mumbled, not entirely trusting her voice. But when she lifted her head and saw the unknown surroundings, fresh tears were brought to her eyes. Defeated, she slumped down against the post and brought her knees to her chest. She didn't care if anyone saw her, she just wanted to be home.

"Hey, are you alright?" She looked up and found a guy around her age staring down at her in concern.

"I'm fine," She muttered, wiping her eyes on her sleeves in embarrassment.

"I don't believe you," He replied. He went to cross his arms over his chest but then thought better of it and offered out his hand for her to stand up with. To this day she still remembers thinking that he was a real gentleman because of this. "Now, tell me what's wrong,"

"I..." She began, and then sighed. She felt so stupid. "I just can't find my way home, I've never been here before,"

"I know what that's like," He smiled slightly. "So, I'll help you. I'm Levi, by the way,"

"I'm Delia...and thank you," She told him where she lived and together they made their way back. She felt like such an idiot. The first person she met in Pallet Town she'd just made a fool of herself to. She wouldn't be able to get over this for years. When she got home, she thanked him and found out that he lived on the next street over (which she happened to be quite glad about). He left and for some strange reason, she felt lonely.


	2. Age 19

Well, the first chapter was kind of a dud, but hopefully this one is better. If it's not, I may adandon or re-write the story. Oh, and on bulbapedia it says that she's 29 when Ash leaves home, so I'm guessing she was 19 when she had him. Aaaand, it says she also inherited a restaurant from her mother.

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><p><strong>Delia: Aged 19<strong>

"You're leaving?" Delia repeated, staring at Levi in disbelief. He nodded his head slightly, not looking at her but at something in the distance.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I can't do this, I'm only nineteen,"

"_You're _only nineteen?" her voice was escalating now. "I'm the one having the baby! You get off easy!"

He just sighed, still unable meet her eyes. "I am really sorry,"

She took a deep breath, letting it all sink in. She was by herself. There was no means of income for her and she had all the added pressure of the _only _restaurant in Pallet Town that her mother had given her just last month for her eighteenth. "But what will I do?" she mumbled. "I have nothing now. My mother threw me out, I have a baby in my stomach and a restaurant to run. How am I supposed to do this all alone?"

"You'll do it," he said. "I know you can. You're a strong person and you always make things work, no matter what," She stared at him, still surprised that he was leaving her. She thought they were meant to be together, but if he was going to be so uncaring, then that was his problem. She felt a different emotion come over her this time, she wasn't sure what it was, but she felt like she didn't care about Levi anymore. If he didn't want his own child that Delia _loved _already, then she didn't want him. Maybe they weren't so perfect for each other after all.

"That's no help," she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "If you're going to leave, you should go now,"

"Okay," he leant over to kiss her cheek, but she pulled away, shaking her head. The thing she has always remembered about this is the heartbroken look he had on his face when he didn't kiss her. Part of her was glad about it, the other part felt horrible. "I love you," and then he stood up from the park bench and walked off. That was the last Delia ever saw of Levi, and she was glad of it. But now she was alone. She didn't actually know anyone besides Levi, Professor Oak and Spencer. She didn't want to bug the Professor and burden him with all her problems and she couldn't just go home, and then she also had three bags of things she had to carry, it was what her mother had given her when she had kicked her out for being pregnant.

But hey, that tree on the other side of the park looked nice. It had large branches which would provide good cover, and the grass underneath was nice and soft. That wouldn't be such a bad place to stay, would it? Better than on the cold concrete streets. She would have stayed in the small resorts and hotels that Pallet had, but she had no way of paying for them, so the tree would have to do. Having no other alternative, she picked up her stuff and made her way over to the large Oak.

She began unpacking her things - she pulled out her blankets to set up a makeshift bed and hung up her pyjamas and some of her other clothes on the branches. After her bags were empty, she stepped backwards to admire her work. It wasn't that bad looking, she could get used to it...eventually. Delia was just trying to stay positive now and not think of the negatives, because when she did she knew that she would cry and make even more of an idiot out of herself that living under a tree did.

She went and sat back down on her bed and tried to think things over. Maybe tomorrow she'd open the restaurant and try and get some sort of income out of that. But she was only nineteen, she had no idea how to run a business, what with all the accounting and employees and everything. Then in a few months she'd have to take time off because she wouldn't be able to work and push herself when she had a growing child inside of her. She placed her head in her hands, everything was just so difficult! Why did she have to do this alone?

"Hey," she looked around for the unknown voice and found a woman looking down at her. She stood up and brushed off her clothes, blushing slightly, but smiling politely. "I think I've seen you before. You're one of Oak's students, aren't you?"

"I was," she answered. "I had to quit a few days ago,"

"That's a shame," she frowned. "I've heard it's pretty difficult to become a student there. Why did you quit?"

"I had to," Delia said. "I'm...er, having a baby,"

The woman's face broke out into a huge smile at this. "Me too! Our kids will grow up together,"

"I'm Delia,"

"Cassie," her smile not faltering. "Cassie Oak,"

"Oh!" Now she felt stupid, she hadn't even recognised the likeness between her and the Professor. Now that she knew, she realised how much alike they _did _look, it was really strange. "You're his daughter! I'm sorry!"

Cassie laughed. "What are you sorry for? I didn't tell you earlier, did I?"

"Well, no," she shrugged her shoulders. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-four, and you?"

"Nineteen,"

"Oh, I understand what you're going through," Cassie smiled again. "I had my daughter when I was that age. It may seem hard, but everything will pass,"

"I know," Delia replied. "But I suppose you had a place to live and a partner and everything," She couldn't help being a little cynical every now and again, because it wasn't fair that some people got off so easy with the same situations. But Cassie was nice, so she couldn't hold anything against her.

"Oh my," she mumbled. "This tree is where you live, isn't it?" she looked the place up and down, frowning in disapprovement. Delia nodded, her cheeks flushing again. She was never one to make good first impressions. "You poor dear," she gushed. "Come stay with us until you're back on your feet,"

"No, I couldn't intrude like that," _Yes, please let me!_

"I insist!" she continued. "We have a spare room! I just can't leave you here, just as winter is approaching," Oh, well, Delia had forgotten about that.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course,"


	3. Age 19 and 9 months

Okay, so I made a mistake in the last chapter saying that she inherited the restaurant for the eighteenth birthday. I meant nineteenth.

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><p><strong>Delia: Aged 19 and 9 months<strong>

Delia didn't remember much of the past three hours. They were just a blur of brights lights, immense pain and people telling her she could do it. And she had. This moment was the only one that mattered over the past few, as she was holding her son in her arms. He was so handsome, just like his father.

"Delia, congratulations!" Cassie announced, entering her hospital room. She was cradling her own child who was asleep. His name was Gary, and now looking at her own child, she knew that they were going to be great friends, just like their mothers.

"Thank you," she smiled, propping herself higher up onto her elbows. "I'm really glad it's over,"

"I'll bet," Cassie chuckled. "It's not so bad the second time, really," For the first time, Delia noticed the deep bags underneath Cassie's eyes - she looked absolutely exhausted. She gulped, nervous about what was to come. She loved her son, but she had no idea how to raise a child. She had been an only child and had never really had that much experience with children or babies. When she had been living with Cassie, she'd looked after her daughter, Daisy a fair amount, but she was five and wasn't exactly a...baby. "So, what's his name?"

"Ash," She smiled. "Ash Ketchum,"

At this moment, Gary began to awake and squirm around. Cassie bounced him up and down on her knee, trying to calm him, but it didn't do anything and he began to cry. Not just an average cry either, a full-on wail. "I'll be two minutes," She said, her eyebrows pulling together in frustration. She stood up from her chair and left the room as to not disturb Ash or other patients in the hospital. Delia appreciated the effort, but the loud noise had startled Ash and he began to cry too.

Delia had no idea what to do, she'd _never _had to comfort a screaming baby before. She tried what Cassie had been doing, but it just made Ash worse too. She tried shushing him and telling him it was okay, but neither of those worked either. Desperate, she pressed the call button for a nurse.

"What's wrong, dear?" A Nurse Joy asked her, walking slowly into the room.

Frustrated, Delia pointed to Ash and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know what to do!" she explained. Now Ash's face was bright red and he was shaking. _Oh why did he have to do this? _She thought. She had figured that eventually she'd have to comfort him, but she hadn't realised how much work it was going to be.

"Oh dear," The nurse's face seemed to turn pale and Delia's stomach dropped. Of course there was something wrong, nothing could ever be easy for her, could it? The nurse held her arms out for Delia to place Ash in. It took a lot for her to do this, and she always remembers feeling as if her baby was being taken away from her just after she got him. But she did, and the nurse looked at him closely. She held her breath, waiting to see what was wrong. "It looks like _febrile convulsion,_" she muttered. "That's when the child becomes too hot and the fever somewhat overwhelms them," she continued when she saw Delia's blank expression. "It means that we have to try and cool him down. You're lucky you're in a hospital, it can be really dangerous for babies, particularly newborns,"

"Okay..." she replied. The last thing the nurse had said had made her nervous. She wouldn't let anything happen to Ash!

"I'll just take him and go cool him down," she smiled. "You just stay here, dear,"

"No, you can't take him," she insisted, swinging her legs over the side of her bed and wincing in pain. She had been laying so still before, she hadn't realised how much pain she was in. But the nurse had already exited the room. As fast as she could, Delia made her way over to the door. She had to stop every few seconds to regain her balance and let the stabbing pains in her abdomen pass. Eventually she got there and stuck her head out into the corridor. The nurse was no where in sight. Pouting angrily, she started off in a random direction - she would find her son.

Halfway down to the next door, she ran back into Cassie who was now holding a very calm Gary. "What are you doing?" she asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"They took Ash," she said. "He had something called febrile convulsion, but they wouldn't let me look after him!"

Cassie sighed, being a new mother was something all too familiar to her. "They know what they're doing," she reasoned. "They're looking after him, it's for the best,"

"But..."

"Come on, lets go back to your room,"


	4. Age 26 and 7

**Delia: Aged 26  
>Ash: Aged 7<br>**

"I hate him, he's so stupid!" Ash slammed the front door behind him and stomped into the kitchen where Delia was cutting up vegetables for dinner. "Mum!"

"What's the matter, Ash?" she replied, not looking up from her chopping board. Her son tended to exaggerate things very easily, so she had learned no to pay too much attention when he went on about something.

"It's Gary," he whined. "He was being so mean to me today,"

This caught her attention. "And what did he do?" Ash and Gary had grown up together and as such were best friends. All throughout their childhood they had done absolutely everything together, just as Cassie and Delia had planned all those years ago. Not once had they had a fight, so this was strange that something had happened now.

"We were hanging out with all the other kids at the park and it was fine, and then suddenly he goes to me," And at this point he was using massive arm gestures to explain the situation. "Well, not goes to _me_, but starts not talking to me. So I ask him what's wrong and he just starts talking about how much better he is than me. So I just left,"

Delia frowned. "It sounds like he was showing off,"

"I don't think so," he continued. "Because he's never been like that in front of anyone before, he's stood up for me if anyone was ever picking on me,"

"I'm sorry he was so mean to you, sweetie," she comforted, placing her knife down on the bench and leaning in to give her son a hug. After, she bent down and brushed his hair out of his eyes and was surprised at how sad they looked. He wasn't crying, they were just dull. It hurt to see her child like this. "Why don't you go over to his or give him a call and ask what was wrong? I'm sure he'll understand if you explain it to him,"

"Well, alright," he sighed. "Thanks," She watched him leave the kitchen and heard him pick the phone off the reciever. She turned back towards the chopping board and picked her knife back up. Why would Gary just turn on Ash like that? He'd always been a lovely boy and she had always liked him being friends with Ash. "Hey, Gary," She tuned back into what was happening in the lounge room. "I am not a loser...why am I calling you?...Fine, I'll hang up, it's not like I care anyway!"

Now she awaited the inevitable - him coming back into the kitchen. She held her breath as she heard the phone beep as it was put back down and then his footsteps. Slowly, he made his way over to where she was standing and looked up at her. She turned to him and suddenly he burst into tears.

"It's okay," She hugged him tightly. "Don't worry about him, he doesn't realise how good a friend you are. He'll miss you,"

"No, he won't," Ash managed to get out in between sobs. "He called me a loser and said I should never call him again!" _What a little shit, _he mind hissed. How dare he be so mean to her son! But she couldn't express any of this anger to Ash, it would just make the situation worse. She imagined how awkward it would be between her and his mother now - she didn't want it to be, she still wanted to be friends with Cassie. But right now, she had to focus on making her son happy. She pulled him into a tighter hug, lifting him up and spinning him around. He was trying not to laugh, she could hear it.

"If he's going to be so mean, you don't need him as a friend anyway," she said. "We've got each other, and you've got all your other friends too,"

"They all like Gary more than me," he sighed, wiping his eyes. "I don't blame them, I'm annoying,"

"Ash, don't say that about yourself!"

"But it's true!" he exclaimed. "They only liked me because I was friends with Gary,"

"I don't believe that," she shook her head. "You're such a nice boy, why wouldn't they like you?" He just shrugged and looked away from her. "Follow me," she walked over to their dining table and took a seat. He took the one next to her and pulled the chair around so he was facing her. She felt absolutely awful for her son, why should he have to go through something like this?

"What is it?" he huffed. She couldn't blame him for being in a bad mood.

"We live in a very small town, don't we?" He nodded slowly, seemingly confused. "Well, people in a small town are often very judgemental,"

"What does judgemental mean?"

She chuckled under her breath. "It means when someone judges you when they don't know the full story or have been told by someone else," He mouthed an 'oh' and she continued. "So it can be very hard living in such a small place because if you're different, you'll gain a reputation,"

"Is that good or bad?"

"It depends, but most of the time its bad," she knew about this all too well. When she was pregnant and went out into town, people would stare at her and even laugh. She was known by other people her age as 'that skank' among other things. "But as long as you know the truth, then everything will be okay. And these things aren't forever. When you're older you're going to travel the world and meet all sorts of people that like you for you, not just because of your friends," As she finished, she noticed that he had a wide smile on his face.

"I can't wait!" he exclaimed. "I'm going to see everything and I'll have the best friends and we'll have so much fun!" It was times like this that Delia loved being a mother, just seeing his seven-year old jubliation at the simplest of things. It was so sweet.

"Of course you are," she smiled too and pulled him into a hug. "Now go wash up for dinner, it will be on the table in ten minutes,"


	5. Age 29 and almost 10

**Delia: Aged 29  
>Ash: Aged 9 (10 tomorrow)<br>**

She had been dreading this night ever since she'd had that talk about Ash about travelling three years ago. She knew it was coming, but she didn't want to have to let go yet, he was only ten! She did believe ten was a little young to be off by yourself, but he'd have a pokemon, so he would be a little safer.

"Hey, Ash, it's time for bed," she announced, pointing to the clock. "You don't want to be tired for tomorrow,"

"But mum, I'm not sleepy!" he protested, crossing his arms over his chest. "And I'm so excited, how am I expected to sleep?"

"Well, you go get in your pyjamas and hop into your bed. I do believe that's how most people sleep,"

"But mum!"

"Don't argue, Ashton," He knew that when she used his full name, he was in trouble. So accepting his fate, he slumped his shoulders to try and get sympathy and slowly walked out the room. As his back was turned, she couldn't supress her smile any longer. He was so excited, she couldn't help but feel happy for him too. She could hear him brushing his teeth in the bathroom, which was the next room over, and a sudden wave of sadness washed over her. This was the last time she'd hear this until she didn't know when. The house would be empty and she would be...alone. Oh, how she would miss him.

"Mum," he peeked his head around the doorframe. "I need your opinion on something,"

"If it's about which starter you want to choose, I've already told you my thoughts," she laughed.

"But they're all so good, I can't decide!" she followed him into his room and sat down on his bed while he stood in front of the posters he had up, deep in thought. "I think I'll go with Charmander, it's fire, and fire is strong...but then again, there is Bulbasaur, and that has a good advantage over Squirtle. Oh, I don't know!"

"Don't think about it now, sweetie," she patted the spot next to her for him to come and sit. Reluctantly, he followed. "Just think about all the adventures you're going to have," That would distract him from the posters on his wall.

"I know!" he grinned. "I'm going to Viridian City first, and you know how cool that will be? Super cool! It'll be the first city I've been to!"

"Viridian City is nice," she agreed. "Actually, I took you there once when you were a toddler, so it might resurface some memories when you get there,"

"Oh cool! I've actually been out of Pallet?" He didn't let her answer, but continued on rambling. "I'm most excited about getting Cerulean, that place looks so nice! It's right by the ocean, so it will be like here. Oh, and there's a bike shop, so maybe I can get one,"

"I don't know if you'll have enough money for that, Ash,"

"Well, I'll get the cheapest one," he grinned. "And what about Celadon City, have you been there?"

"Yes, I have," she said. "I've been to most cities in Kanto, even Lavender Town,"

"Lavender Town?" He tilted his head to the side in confusion. "What's so special about that?"

"Oh, you haven't heard?" She walked over to the lightswitch and flicked it off for effect. "They say that it's haunted because of a Marowak that was killed there,"

"Haunted?"

"Yeah," she smirked. "Every second Thursday at midnight it has been rumoured that you can hear strange cries coming from Pokemon Tower, that's a gravesite. It's even been said that if you listen really carefully that you can hear creepy music coming from the fourth floor of the building,"

"Where does that music come from?" Ash was leaning really far forward now, totally enthralled with the story.

"No one knows," Delia shook her head dramatically. "But there is a man who lives there called Mister Fuji. Everyone knows him, but some say that he's been there longer than anyone. It's as if he's been living there for hundreds of years, never aging,"

"Oh wow!" he exclaimed. "I really want to meet this guy now!"

"Ash," she smiled softly. "I'm going to miss you,"

"I'm going to miss you too, mum,"

"Everything will be so quiet without you here, it won't feel right," She pulled him into a hug so he wouldn't see her tears. As she was still in a hug, she quickly wiped them away.

"You'll be okay," he smiled, but it was wistful. "I'll come back home and visit you as much as I can,"

"Thank you," she mumbled. "But you don't have to. I want you to go out and travel, have adventures. Make me proud,"

"Goodnight, mum," He had to have her leave before he started crying too, that would just be embarrassing.

"Sleep well, sweetie," She kissed his forehead and closed the door on her way out. When he was sure she was gone, he got out of bed and flicked the light back on. There was no way he could sleep when he was this excited.


End file.
